Rory McIlroy Retakes World No. 1 Spot with Win at CJ Cup

Rory McIlroy regained the No. 1 spot in the world for the ninth time by defeating Kurt Kitayama and endured a nervous final hole with a 3-putt bogey which gave him a 4- under 67 and a one-stroke victory Sunday at the CJ Cup in South Carolina.
It wasn’t just the fact that he won that made him cry; it was knowing how far he’d gone with so much help from people who were there for him every step of the way.
With five holes left to play, McIlroy seized complete command by running off three straight birdies. The pivotal run began when he hit his 5 iron from 227 yards out to 15 feet on the Par 3 14th.
”I think that the birdie on 14 was really … that’s what separated … the birdie on 14 was big,” McIlroy said. That was followed by another key moment on the 348-yard 15th hole, where he made another birdie, bettering Kitayama’s par.
McIlroy followed that with a long birdie putt on the 16th hole.
This was Rory McIlroy‘s 23rd win on the PGA Tour and 31st win overall.
He won his second consecutive CJ Cup title. The South Korea-based golf event was held in Las Vegas in 2021 when McIlroy was ranked 14th in the world.
Setting off his climb back to No. 1 was victories in the Canadian Open and the Tour Championship to win the FedEx Cup.
”I’ve worked so hard over the last 12 months to get back to this place,” McIlroy said. ”I feel like I’m enjoying the game as much as I ever have. I played with that joy and it’s shown over these last few months.
”It’s a big achievement. I’m proud of myself right now.”
When golf was closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, McIlroy was ranked first but lost his position to Jon Rahm when Rahm won the Memorial tournament in the middle of July 2020.
Scottie Scheffler ended up finishing in the middle of the field at the Congaree Golf Club, which means McIlroy could have won the tournament and still claimed the No. 1 ranking. It was tougher work than he had expected though, so he wasn’t quite ready to give up yet…
McIlroy had a one-shot advantage heading into the final round, but he wasn’t able to take full control until he reached the 18th tee box. Even then, his victory was far from assured. He had a two-shot lead and hit his 40-foot putt some eight feet away from the hole, while Kitayama was 20 feet away from the pin. Both missed.
Kitayama overcame an initial two-stroke deficit but then lost his lead when McIlroy made some big putts. He couldn’t respond.
Kitayama finished without making any bogeys and shot a 67 for his third 2nd-place finish since joining the PGA Tour last year. He earned $1,134,000.
This is Rory’s 3rd win on the season, including a 62 in the Canadian Open to defeat Tony Finau and Justin Thomas, a 66 at the Tour Championship over Scheffler, and a 67 at Congaree with two final-round bogeys.
Another trophy and, finally, another trip to the top of the golf world for Rory McIlroy.
CJ Cup Final Results
1. Rory McIlroy -17 $1890000
2. Kurt Kitayama -16 $1134000
3. K.H. Lee -15 $714000
T4. Tommy Fleetwood -14 $462000
T4. Jon Rahm -14 $462000
6. Aaron Wise -12 $378000
T7. Billy Horschel -11 $316312
T7. Sam Burns -11 $316312
T7. Lee Hodges -11 $316312
T7. Brendon Todd -11 $316312
T11. Jason Day -10 $252000
T11. Tom Kim -10 $252000
T13. Taylor Montgomery -9 $189756
T13. Matt Fitzpatrick -9 $189756
T13. Tyrrell Hatton -9 $189756
T13. Cam Davis -9 $189756
T13. Tom Hoge -9 $189756
T18. Brendan Steele -8 $144480
T18. Mito Pereira -8 $144480
T18. Maverick McNealy -8 $144480
T21. Keegan Bradley -7 $119280
T21. Viktor Hovland -7 $119280
T23. Cameron Young -6 $88305
T23. Max Homa -6 $88305
T23. Brian Harman -6 $88305
T23. Corey Conners -6 $88305
T23. Shane Lowry -6 $88305
T23. Taylor Moore -6 $88305
T29. Andrew Putnam -5 $65730
T29. Matt Kuchar -5 $65730
T29. Justin Suh -5 $65730
T29. Wyndham Clark -5 $65730
T29. Collin Morikawa -5 $65730
T34. Rickie Fowler -4 $54180
T34. Hideki Matsuyama -4 $54180
T34. Sungjae Im -4 $54180
T37. Denny McCarthy -3 $46830
T37. Alex Noren -3 $46830
T37. Bio Kim -3 $46830
T40. Sebastián Muñoz -2 $38430
T40. Justin Thomas -2 $38430
T40. Keith Mitchell -2 $38430
T40. Harris English -2 $38430
T40. Danny Willett -2 $38430
T45. Ryan Palmer -1 $29085
T45. Scottie Scheffler -1 $29085
T45. Emiliano Grillo -1 $29085
T45. Russell Henley -1 $29085
T49. Sanghyun Park E $24010
T49. Adam Hadwin E $24010
T49. Seamus Power E $24010
T52. Davis Riley 1 $21840
T52. Webb Simpson 1 $21840
T52. Jordan Spieth 1 $21840
T52. Si Woo Kim 1 $21840
T52. Alex Smalley 1 $21840
T52. Chris Kirk 1 $21840
T58. Lucas Glover 2 $20685
T58. Scott Stallings 2 $20685
T58. Luke List 2 $20685
T58. J.J. Spaun 2 $20685
T62. Sepp Straka 3 $20055
T62. Byeong Hun An 3 $20055
64. Seonghyeon Kim 4 $19740
T65. Christiaan Bezuidenhout 6 $19425
T65. John Huh 6 $19425
T67. Sahith Theegala 7 $18795
T67. Gary Woodland 7 $18795
T67. J.T. Poston 7 $18795
T67. Troy Merritt 7 $18795
71. Trey Mullinax 8 $18270
T72. Chanmin Jung 9 $17850
T72. Kevin Kisner 9 $17850
T72. Chez Reavie 9 $17850
75. Yongjun Bae 10 $17430
76. Sanghun Shin 17 $17220
T77. Yeongsu Kim 19 $16905
T77. Yoseop Seo 19 $16905